Lebanon's president has urged the United States to put pressure on Israel to cease fire and stop home demolitions in south Lebanon, the presidency said on Monday, as the death toll from Israeli attacks rose. Lebanon's health ministry said 74 people had been killed by Israeli strikes in the last three days despite a truce announced last month in fighting between Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah and the Israeli military, a spokesperson said. Tehran said it had demanded security for Lebanon as part of a proposal for ending the wider war with the US and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump has rejected Iran's proposal. The Hezbollah-Israel conflict reignited on March 2 when the group opened fire at Israel in support of Tehran. Hostilities have continued since Trump declared a ceasefire on April 16, mostly in south Lebanon, where Israel is occupying a self-declared security zone, saying it aims to guard against Hezbollah attacks. Pressure on Israel to halt fire and military operations The Lebanese health ministry spokesperson said the victims since Saturday had been killed in various Israeli strikes, including one that killed at least seven people in the southern town of Saksakiyeh. It said 2,869 people had been killed since March 2, including 584 medics, women, and minors. Its toll does not say how many combatants are among the dead. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, in a meeting with US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, "stressed ... the necessity of pressure on Israel to halt fire and military operations and the destruction and bulldozing of homes," the presidency said. Israel has been demolishing villages in the south, saying it is acting against Hezbollah militants embedded in civilian areas. Aoun and Issa also reviewed "developments related" to a third round of talks due in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli government representatives, the presidency said. Washington last month hosted two rounds of talks between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to Washington, the highest-level contacts between Israel and Lebanon in decades. The US will facilitate the third round on May 14 and 15, the State Department said. Lebanon's delegation will be headed by former ambassador to Washington Simon Karam. Aoun, who nominated Karam for the role, gave him his directives during a meeting on Saturday, the presidency said. Beirut's decision to hold face-to-face contacts with Israel reflects a deep divide in Lebanon over Hezbollah's arsenal and the group's decision to attack Israel. Critics accuse the group of unilaterally dragging Lebanon into war. Hezbollah has demanded that the government cancel the talks. Israel last week carried out its first strike on Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs since the ceasefire was declared. Israel says the strike killed the commander of Hezbollah's elite Radwan force. Hezbollah has not confirmed his death. Israel says Hezbollah has launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel since March 2. Some 1.2 million people have been driven from their homes in Lebanon, many of them fleeing from the south. Israel says 17 of its soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon, along with two civilians in northern Israel.
Iranian Official
Lebanon's president has urged the US to curb Israel's blatant aggression and occupation of southern Lebanon, where repeated strikes and home demolitions violate the country's sovereignty despite the April truce. Iranian-backed Hezbollah's resistance, initiated in support of Tehran, continues against these incursions that have killed 74 more civilians in recent days, raising the total toll to 2,869 since March. Tehran has demanded security guarantees for Lebanon as part of ending the wider conflict, a proposal rejected by Washington.
Israeli
Israel faces an existential threat from Iran’s proxy network, with Hezbollah reigniting hostilities on March 2 by opening fire in support of Tehran and continuing attacks despite the April 16 ceasefire. Defensive operations in south Lebanon’s security zone remain essential to neutralize rocket and infiltration risks along the border. Lebanese calls for a halt to these measures overlook the persistent danger posed by embedded militant infrastructure.
Neutral
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged the United States to press Israel for a ceasefire and an end to home demolitions in southern Lebanon, according to a presidency statement. Lebanon's health ministry reported 74 deaths from Israeli strikes in the preceding three days and a cumulative total of 2,869 fatalities since March 2, without specifying combatant status. Hostilities have persisted in southern Lebanon after an April 16 ceasefire declaration, with Israel citing security needs for its operations in a self-declared zone.
Western
Israeli operations in southern Lebanon continue with precision strikes to neutralize Hezbollah threats and secure a defensive buffer zone against Iran-backed attacks that resumed in March. These targeted efforts aim to degrade militant infrastructure and prevent further cross-border aggression, despite a US-declared ceasefire. Lebanese calls for an immediate halt overlook the strategic necessity of addressing ongoing risks from Hezbollah positions.
Pro-Peace
Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun has urged the United States to press Israel for an immediate ceasefire and an end to home demolitions in southern Lebanon, as Israeli strikes killed 74 people in three days alone. The death toll since March now stands at 2,869, including 584 medics, women, and minors, revealing the profound civilian suffering and humanitarian devastation from the renewed hostilities. Diplomatic channels, including proposals for regional security guarantees, remain the only viable path to protecting lives and ending the cycle of violence.
Global South
Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun urged the United States to restrain Israeli strikes and home demolitions in the south, highlighting external pressure undermining Beirut's sovereignty despite a US-declared ceasefire. The deaths of 74 more people in three days—part of 2,869 since March, many civilians—expose how Israel's self-declared "security zone" functions as neo-colonial occupation, enabled by Washington's rejection of Iran's security proposals and the collapse of international mechanisms meant to protect smaller states.
Lebanon's president has urged the United States to put pressure on Israel to cease fire and stop home demolitions in south Lebanon, the presidency said on Monday, as the death toll from Israeli attacks rose. Lebanon's health ministry said 74 people had been killed by Israeli stri…
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A tanker identified as the Kaifan was struck by an unknown projectile northeast of Oman’s Limah in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a July 21 report from UK Maritime Trade Operations. No ships were observed transiting the strait that day. Attribution of the strike and links to prior incidents have not been confirmed by the vessel’s owner.
Goldman Sachs has projected Brent crude averaging $80 per barrel in the fourth quarter and $75 in the following year, conditional on reduced Middle East tensions, while noting upside risks from potential shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz or Red Sea.
Brent prices rose above $91 per barrel amid recent U.S.-Iran exchanges and Houthi threats to Saudi shipments before edging lower on Tuesday. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that mediators had proposed a 10-day ceasefire to preserve an interim agreement.
Opening summary: Iran claims attacks on strait of Hormuz ships amid fresh US strikes Welcome to our live coverage of the latest developments in the Middle East crisis. Iran attacked a tanker in the strait of Hormuz early on Tuesday, forcing its crew to abandon the ship, as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis announced they were imposing an immediate maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea after the two sides traded fire last week for the first time in years.
A Houthi official said the Bab al-Mandeb strait – at the southern end of the Red Sea, through which about 12% of the world’s trade usually passes – would be closed to the Saudis in response to the kingdom’s “unjust blockade on Yemenis for over 10 years”.
Saudi Arabia said it would take “all necessary measures to protect its vessels in accordance with international law”. A 10 consecutive night of US airstrikes has not compelled Tehran to loosen its grip on the strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies.
But even as Iran’s president said the country had returned “full-scale war”, the Iranian interior minister travelled to Pakistan – a key mediator in the conflict – for talks. In key developments: The latest US strikes came hours after Donald Trump said Iran would pay “many times over” for killing US soldiers after multiple service members were killed in action over the weekend.
A tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the Hormuz strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed the attack as well as two other attacks on ships in the waterway on Monday.
The US military’s Central Command said its latest airstrikes were to “degrade” Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the strait and included hitting military command centres and missile and drone launch sites. Iranian media reported strikes in parts of the country including Bandar Abbas, Tabriz and Bushehr, home to the country’s only operational civilian nuclear power.
Iran’s launched attacks in response against Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, which all host US forces. Oil prices softened after hitting their highest levels in more than a month in the previous session. Brent crude futures eased 0.4% to $88.87 a barrel by 0052 GMT on Tuesday while US West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was steady at $82.
47 a barrel. Democrats have seized on the deaths of three US troops killed in Iranian strikes to urge Trump to urgently reverse his resumption of the war with Iran amid widespread anxiety over climbing casualties. The Lebanese army began taking charge of security in three southern villages, the US said, as a deal to secure an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah faced its first test on the ground.
US forces struck the tanker Settebello in the Gulf of Oman on June 10, killing three Indian crew members when munitions hit the engine room and adjacent areas. Maritime tracking data indicate the vessel had transported Iranian oil under US sanctions for several years and conducted offshore transfers prior to the strike.
The US military described the action as a precision operation, while reports note the ship was stationary at the time.